Maryland is off to the Big Ten, leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference behind. Rutgers is set to follow, becoming the latest to leave the Big East in its past.

All indications are the ACC will knock on UConn's door to become Maryland's replacement in the league. Maryland begins Big Ten play in 2014-15 and Rutgers is expected to follow the same timeline. An ACC source said Monday that the league had not contacted any possible replacement schools. Rather, multiple schools had contacted the ACC about inclusion in the league.

So much for the crazy realignment ride coming to a stop.

While there are many vying to provide the ACC with a 14th football school, the ACC source said UConn and Louisville are the top two candidates. UConn has made no secret of the fact that it would immediately accept an ACC invitation if one were extended; a Big East source said Monday he expects the Huskies to eventually depart the league. Louisville has long been rumored to be looking at supposedly greener pastures, though the Big 12 has most often been mentioned as its destination conference.

Coincidentally, UConn and Louisville meet on the football field Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

A UConn source said Monday that there have been no substantive talks between the school and the ACC recently, though the two sides have maintained a cordial dialogue for some time now. UConn athletic director Warde Manuel spent much of Monday traveling to the Virgin Islands for the title game of the men's Paradise Jam on Monday night.

He will remain there through the women's Paradise Jam that begins Thursday, but UConn spokesman Mike Enright said Manuel will be monitoring things while he is away.

The Internet was abuzz with rumors, including a tweet that reported UConn will accept an ACC invitation as early as today. That was refuted by UConn sources, but it could just be a matter of time before the Huskies bid adieu to the conference they helped to establish.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse have already announced their intentions to leave the Big East for the ACC after this academic year. West Virginia departed for the Big 12 prior to this academic year. The loss of Rutgers, which is expected to be officially announced today, according to reports, means that the Big East has lost nearly all of its founding football members. The only one remaining is Temple, which was booted from the conference for years before returning to the Big East this season in yet more conference shifting.

If it decides to leave the Big East, UConn would have to pay the Big East $10 million and face a 27-month waiting period. However, Syracuse and Pittsburgh successfully negotiated both the exit penalties and the waiting period and there's no reason to believe UConn or Louisville wouldn't be able to do the same if the ACC came calling.

Coaches aren't paying much attention to the most recent round of conference expansion.

"We've got so much on our plate here," UConn football coach Paul Pasqualoni said Monday on the Big East coaches' teleconference. "I haven't even thought about that. Those decisions are going to be made at a much higher level than I'm at. I can't say it's a distraction because we've got so much to do."

As does the ACC.

If UConn and Louisville are indeed the top two targets, the ACC has decisions to make regarding which direction it wants to take. While initial realignment moves — which started when the ACC raided the Big East a decade ago — were undertaken to strengthen the football product, whatever move the ACC makes will most likely be based in strengthening the TV market.

UConn is viewed as a school that can deliver some of the highly conveted New York television market. Given that academics are often touted as a factor in all of this, UConn would be a better fit for the ACC than Louisville. According to U.S. News & World Report's university rankings, UConn is No. 63 nationally while Louisville is well behind at No. 160.

If competitive balance is the ACC's goal, especially in football, then Louisville makes more sense. It has an historically stronger football program and it's men's basketball team perenially is among the best under coach Rick Pitino. In basketball terms, UConn and Louisville would be a wash for the ACC. Each team has been in the same echelon as Duke and North Carolina for a number of years.

A move to the ACC would give UConn access to the impending BCS football playoff system. At present, the Big East is among a group of five conferences that will compete for one spot in the six-bowl alignment.

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